THIS month of July, all the schools nationwide are celebrating the annual Nutrition Month by virtue of Presidential Decree 491 in 1974 that declared that Nutrition Month shall be held every July to create greater awareness on the importance of nutrition among Filipinos.
As provided in the said PD, the law mandates the National Nutrition Council (NNC) to coordinate and lead the nationwide campaign. It is well supported by the Department of Education as it is always a part of the department’s important activity in its annual calendar.
The 2019 Nutrition Month theme is “Kumain nang wasto at maging aktibo... push natin ‘to!” (Eat healthy and do physical activity ... let’s push this!). It encourages everyone to advocate and realize the importance of healthy diet, increased physical activity and reduced sedentary behavior. Pushing the advocacy means that each one can contribute to better nutrition and physical activity for better health. The Nutrition Month logo for the theme shows the balance that needs to be achieved through healthy diet as symbolized by the leaf of a vegetable and physical activity by moving figures of people.
According to NNC, the campaign aims to catalyze actions to: a. promote the consumption of healthy diets, increased physical activity, and reduced sedentary behavior through activities of daily living among individuals and families; b. encourage the food industry including farmers, manufacturers, distributors and food establishments to produce and make available healthier food options; and c. advocate for the enactment of national and local legislation/policies and policies at the workplace, school and other venues that are supportive of an enabling environment for healthy diets and physical activity. While Nutrition Month is observed during July, actions to achieve the objectives are expected to be sustained.
The rationale for promoting nutrition and physical activity are the following: a. Physical activity and diet are two modifiable risk factors to noncommunicable diseases. b. Regular physical activity protects against coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, some cancers, hypertension, obesity, clinical depression, and other chronic disorders. c. Sedentary behavior (prolonged sitting) may be a distinct risk factor, independent of physical activity, for multiple adverse health outcomes in adults. d. There is some evidence that suggests that nutrition and physical activity have complementary and interactive effects on many physiological parameters including energy balance, lipid balance, and glucose balance. Improving both nutrition and physical activity can result to better health outcomes.
As mentioned by NNC, the key messages of Nutrition Month are the following: a. Have ONE hour or more of physical activity every day. b. Reduce screen time to TWO hours or less each day. c. Eat the three food groups every day for variety.
This Corner hopes that all the stakeholders in the school shall do their part in actively promoting proper nutrition among the schoolchildren.